How We Got Our Kitties!

So this is a little overdue I think but it's something I'd like to remember and maybe some of you out there were wondering so here goes...

I think I gave some of the back story about my hubby winning the Husband of the Year award by getting allergy shots...so continuing from that thread:

We found out in January/February that hubby had reached his maximum tolerance with cat allergies despite still needing the weekly shot (upkeep and maintenance they say=we want more of your $).  So I started dropping a hint or two and he did as well without meaning to.  My neighbor even whispered to me one night in January when I went over to ask for an egg "I think you're getting a cat soon...he came over here asking about apartment pet fees."  I brushed it off because I didn't want to get my hopes up.  Hubby, without meaning to, asked probing questions out of the blue every now and then that got me thinking.  I continued to try and keep my hopes suppressed.  Until I could let them run wild and free on my birthday weekend getaway when my card said "You're getting a kitten!"  He may as well have been Prince Charming from Cinderella slipping my missing slipper on my dainty little foot.  My hero! 

Now, I'd been doing research already about where I'd like to adopt from.  At first I was only looking into no-kill rescue shelters/homes in the area.  But none had kittens yet...it was a little too early in the season for kittens.  I kept thinking though that training a kitten to use the litter box when we both work would not be so fun...and maybe it would be better if we got a cat that was a little older and more mellow for hubby's first adult experience with a cat.  But I didn't want one too old that wouldn't live a long time with me.  So I decided to look into cats that were 1-3 years old...preferably with a sponsor who had already paid their adoption fee...and preferably orange and male.  Hubby had an affinity with orange cats:)  Well, I kept striking out....either with selection or with cost of fees being too high, knowing we'd still have to pay the apartment a fee on top of that. 

Though I really wanted to support the local no-kill rescue places, I got that glimmer in my eye that reminded me of why I taught in Durham, NC instead of Chapel Hill...I wanted to rescue those that needed rescuing, and solve the big problems...at least that is how my narrow mind saw it when I was a fresh college grad.  So I started looking into Young-Williams Animal Center...a local kill shelter for cats and dogs.  Now, they have a whole page on their website explaining why they are a kill shelter (though they word it this way..."What is a No-Kill Shelter and Why We Aren't One"), and I want you to know that I don't support killing animals...so please don't think that just because I got my kitties from there that those are my beliefs...they aren't.

But I had officially changed my mind and wanted to rescue a sweet fur baby from being killed, so my research resumed at YW.  Their selection was A LOT bigger than the small no-kill rescues I'd looked at (probably because they are so well known in the area for accepting strays) AND they had several cats in the age range I was looking for AND a lot of them were FREE because a sponsor had already paid for their adoption fees.  SOLD. 

I looked online and wrote down the names of about 15 cats I wanted to meet and learn more about upon my first visit to YW.  That list quickly narrowed when I got there and saw that some of the online information had not been accurate, or one had Feline HIV or other health issues I wasn't willing to take on for a first pet, or their fur was really long (due to allergies, short hair was our priority)...etc. etc. 

First of all before I go further, this place STUNK.  Like bad y'all.  I spent 3 hours there meeting different cats on my first visit and dumped all my clothes in the laundry basket that evening.  It was nasty.  Cats sleeping in their litter boxes, that hadn't been changed lately, their fur matted, dusty, dirty, stinky...most of the cats had a URI (upper respiratory infection...basically a kitty form of the human cold=highly contagious) and they were all in these relatively small metal cages that made horrendous noises when opened and frightened many of them.  I want to grab them all and run out the door! 

But I didn't.  I met, petted, starred longingly at some sweet faces, talked to them, read about them, and made some cuts from my long list.  Hubby only cleared me for one OR two cats and my list of 15 was, well, too long.  Darn.  (Not really, I'd never want 15 cats...two or three is most sufficient.) 

There was this one sweet baby.  Just a year old...sick as a dog (or cat) and more or less quarantined in his own little room because he couldn't handle the cage.  He was too affectionate they said and kept rubbing his little face against the grated metal cage and scratched his fur off his face and had scabs from it.  Plus he sounded like he was on his death bed.  I mean, he was wheezing like a chain smoker of 80 years, sneezing all over me (hence another reason my clothes went into the laundry basket), had snot literally dripping out of his nose, swollen puffy eyes, and had barely enough life to wake up from his nap in his litter box, jump into my lap and nuzzle my chin (I showered later...trust me).  Then he almost fell asleep again.  I had to wake him up to leave (which I didn't want to do) and shut the glass door behind me.  He groggily walks up to the door, mewing at me.  I crouch down to talk to him through the glass and put my hand up...pretending to pet him and tell him I'll be back to visit with hubby soon.  He continues to talk to me and puts his paw up where my hand is on the glass.  Decision MADE...this sweet cat is mine.  Stole my heart in that moment.  This exact story would steal my hubby's heart that evening when I told it to him...and he hadn't even met the cat yet! 

Even more perfect, this sweet cat's fees had been paid for by a sponsor...he was FREE!  The only problem we had was the stupid name YW had given him...Catsper.  Eeww.  Granted, he is white...with tabby splotches and a completely tabby tail...but did they seriously have to give him the worst punny name possible?  That was remedied very quickly when we brought him home.  Welcome to our lives RINGO!

Next, it was time to find a good cat buddy for Ringo...because if I had talked hubby into getting one, why not shoot for the moon and sneak a second one home!? Am I right?  

I made another list, and a second visit.  I narrowed it down again...because you have to understand...this shelter was getting cats in like crazy...so even though my second visit was only 3 days later, there were a lot of new kitties to choose from.  Through the narrowing down process of holding different cats up to Ringo/Catsper's glass door and seeing how they'd respond to each other...I had finally narrowed it down to 2 other choices, both girls of the same age as Ringo.  Hubby and I had already planned on meeting later that evening at YW to make our decisions final and sign paperwork.  This was perfect.  We visited with my two choices and with Ringo and finally settled on our sweet princess.  YW named her Bonnie.  No offense if that is your name or a family name...but for this beautiful girl, it wouldn't do.  We renamed her Cassie.  Welcome Cassie to our home!


February 20 we signed the papers and paid for Cassie (she wasn't free obviously but since she was over 8 months old her fee was cut in half).  A week later, we brought them home!

One happy momma!

 Ever since then, we've loved on these kitties...fed them a ton, took care of them and watched them blossom.  It's been so great to see them get used to being around each other...now they'll give each other baths, cuddle in the sun, and play with each others' tails!  They are just too cute together!  Cassie chirps like a bird, Ringo jumps almost 3ft high to catch toys, Cassie is surprisingly very playful given she's more shy to open up to others, Ringo nurses on blankets while making muffins, they'll both be waiting outside our bedroom door in the morning (we keep our bedroom doors shut), and on and on and on.  We've laughed so hard in the last month and a half:)  We love you kitties! 

Oh, and just in case you're wondering...hubby...a self-proclaimed major disliker of cats, (hate is a little too strong of a word)...has morphed into this:

Total Cat Person